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St. Johns Country Day halts FSDB's five-game run

Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind's Jesus Jimenez runs the ball pursued by St. Johns Country Day's Evan Carter Jr Thursday during the first half.

Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind's Charles Elliott runs during the first half of Friday's game.

Failure to meet expectations and Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind football rarely, if ever, make an appearance in the same sentence.

But after losing 27-12 to St. Johns Country Day, that’s exactly what coach Eric LeFors felt his team did on Thursday night.

“We didn’t have a good week of practice and there were a few missed chances for us that we didn’t take,” LeFors said. “I’ll take some of the blame for not preparing them right, and there were a few times when they didn’t execute out on the field.”

Expectation is a foreign word to FSDB. Late in the third quarter, a few Dragons players got heated on the sideline after another drive ended in a turnover on downs.

“It’s still more than I’d like to see,” LeFors said. “It’s new to them, it’s new to all of us.”

The Dragons (5-2) came into the game against SJCD (4-2) after a 76-6 shellacking of Alabama Deaf, their fifth win in a row. Offensively FSDB has been nothing short of stellar this season, with quarterback Corey Koski able to weave through and power past opposing defenses seemingly at will.

But Koski finished the game with only 40 rushing yards on 23 attempts, while both touchdowns came on Koski runs. Seven Dragons’ drives ended in a turnover on downs or a fumble, as passes were dropped and blocking assignments were missed routinely.

FSDB also completed just two passes before their final offensive drive.

Mistakes and missed opportunities plagued the Dragons. The size differential between the two teams, specifically in the trenches, was too much handle. Runs up the middle resulted in losses of yardage, and attempts to string the ball wide were met with a swarm of Spartans defenders.

LeFors doesn’t believe that success has gone to his team’s head — it may be new to them, but there’s enough of a history of losing to keep a team humble.

“They’re still grounded, even after five wins,” LeFors said. “I don’t know why, but whenever we make an out-of-state road trip it seems like we come back to practice flat. Like they were still tired from the bus ride.”

Spartans running back Keylan Brown, a freshman, scored two touchdowns and ran for 228 yards on 25 carries. SJCD’s offense, an unconventional hodgepodge of the wishbone and spread, featured Brown rushing uncontested time after time, misdirections that always seemed to end up in the hands of the talented back.

“They came in with a good game plan, I give them a lot of credit,” LeFors said. “When they got pressure on us, we changed things up and went to the triple-option but the adjustments weren’t enough.”

After the game a visibly upset team huddled underneath the goalpost, and LeFors asked them a simple question: how did it feel?

“I asked them if they felt bad after the loss, and I wanted to see their reactions,” LeFors said. “Some of the guys were delayed by a little bit, but everyone eventually raised their hand.”

FSDB travels to Jacksonville next week to play Cedar Creek Christian and is still three weeks away from taking on rival St. Joseph Academy. A five-win record is still special for this Dragons’ group, and a reality check may end up being exactly what FSDB needs to keep the expectations high.